Treating Breast Cancer: Breast Cancer

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Treating breast cancer

More than many other illnesses, breast cancer demands that you take an active role in your care. That's because there are many treatment options you will need to consider. Two different treatments may offer the same chance for controlling the cancer but may affect your daily life in different ways. The difference comes down to quality and quantity of life and personal preferences. Before making a decision, you owe it to yourself to learn about all of your treatment options and how they are likely to affect the way you will look and feel.

Today, the optimal management includes a committed team of health care specialists from different disciplines - surgery, reconstructive surgery, medical and radiation oncology, radiology, pathology, nursing and social services. While each person of this team has his or her own area of specialization, the best care comes from a coordinated effort that considers all of the differing aspects of the medical and pathological aspects of the cancer that has been diagnosed.

For example, you may need to decide, with your surgeon's help, whether breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) or full breast removal (mastectomy) is the best choice, weighing both recurrence rates and cosmetic and lifestyle considerations. Likewise, you'll need to determine whether you want breast reconstruction and, if so, which of several procedures to select. Ask whether it's possible to have the reconstruction performed at the same time the cancer is removed.

Last updated:	April 23, 2007